Last week, the Brussels-based body responsible for the EU’s day-to-day running, admitted that it faces a dearth of English-speaking translators.
Many of its current employee base of native English speakers joined in the 1970s, when Ireland and the UK entered the then EEC, and are now approaching retirement age. But according to the commission, its search for recruits has shown that many potential candidates are unaware of the job opportunities for linguists in the EU.
Martin Territt, director of the commission’s Ireland office, said the body’s documentation translation service is facing “a major generational change” and is expected to lose at least 20 per cent of its staff by 2015.
“At the same time,” continued Territt, “demand for translation into English has increased 45 per cent over the last five years as 11 new official languages have been adopted by the EU.
“We need the best translators with English as a first language. Irish people are in a unique position to work in a stimulating and rewarding career in a core European institution.”
Under EU regulations, citizens have the right to submit documents, questions and complaints in any of its 23 official languages to the EU institutions. As a result, the commission must analyse and process vast volumes of written communication.
English is used as a ‘bridge language’ between different European languages for translation purposes, and is the most widely spoken by the new generation of EU officials. Today, English is also the first foreign language being taught in most schools across the EU.
Previous competitions held by the European Personnel Selection Office have not yielded sufficient candidates with the necessary English language competences.
Another problem has been the number and type of languages that native English speakers are competent in. Most have backgrounds in French, German, Spanish and Italian, rather than Latvian, Lithuanian or Estonian, for example.
For more information on Europe’s Directorate-General for Translation, visit ec.europa.eu/dgs/translation/
